Week at the beach screams for a well planned menu. A menu that lends itself to preparing ahead  of time at home, freeze  and transport to join the fun. First, extra planning and cooking for you before your trip. Let’s face it, it will be easier for you to cook meals in your home. You have everything at your fingertips, baking dishes, seasonings, stocked pantry and recipes.

Sharing a home cooked meal and engaging in conversations is important to family relationships. If you have teenagers or young adults, it is important to have special time with them while you may.  They will be up and out of the house before you know it.  A meal at home provides a relaxed atmosphere and allows you to linger longer than a meal out.

What does cooking meals ahead reduce ?

-reduce transporting to/from beach items to cook, seasonings & pantry basics
-reduce multiple grocery trips  & paying more for small packaging
cost of eating out
-reduced aggravation because your stuck inside cooking while missing beach fun with family
-poor choices for quick meals including junk & fast food

Planning meals for the beach will enhance the special time for you and your family. It will give you a framework, on which to plan trip and let everyone know the plan. Please allow for flexibility, allow for freedom of choice and add in “free-days”. Decide ahead of time which meals will need everyone in attendance. Too much planning or structure does not allow for spontaneity.

As a suggestion, recommend that for breakfast and lunch, everyone is on their own. Prepare a list of items available for your crew to prepare for themselves or reheat for breakfast or lunch. After all, this will end the barrage of questions about meals.

Set a time for everyone to be ready to join the evening meal. Anyone late is first on the list for kitchen duty for breakfast. Enjoy the meal and dinner conversation with your family. Then  allow everyone to help with the clean up before moving on to other things after dinner.

Discussions of beach activity options for the week will keep everyone busy for the first night. Between the days adventures and tomorrow’s possibilities, you should have plenty to talk about. Not to mention no one will go hungry with your planned menu.

Make Ahead Beach Menu

Here is a suggested menu plan. This make ahead beach menu plan allows for a week at the beach of meals. You may need to adjust the recipe quantity based on the number of people in your crew. Also, adjust as needed for how many times you may want to eat out while at the beach.

Easy Breakfast Casserole

Spicy Sausage Cheese Egg Pies

A Savory Cake of Bread, Sausage and Cheese

Weary Souls Chicken Soup Recipe

Spicy Corn and Crawfish Chowder

Spicy Chili with Chipotle

Working Mom’s Chicken Enchilada

Braised Beef Roast Served on a Bed of Egg Noodles with Smoky Gravy

Meatloaf Trifecta Beef, Spicy Sausage and Bacon

Beach Ready? New Fresh Potato Salad Recipe

Southern Zipper Peas Recipe

Updated 100 year old Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Chocolate Mint Brownie Bites

Things to keep in mind for your Make Ahead Beach Menu

Breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes, all freeze well.
Roast recipe- cook pasta  just before serving.
No seafood  in main entree- when dining out, order fresh seafood.
Chicken enchiladas Serve alone or add salad on side
Chili is perfect to serve on a hot dog or sausage dog for lunch.
Leftover Meatloaf & Roast make excellent sandwiches for lunch

In summary, as I look at this list, I realize it is a lot to prepare fresh food but it taste so much better. Not to mention it is a healthier option. If you want to cut the work, pick only a couple of the items on the list. The meatloaf and the chicken enchiladas will not disappoint for dinner or leftover as sandwiches. I hope that this list will aid and allow you more time on the beach with your family. Or with a cocktail in your hand! When Mom is happy, everyone is happy.

Happy Beachin’ Y’all

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Ideally, timing for 20 house guests would ordinarily be spread out over a long time. The timing of life and other events created changes in plans which drove the dates. Having said that, Grill-Man and I had a lovely time hosting all of our friends and family. Celebratory from beginning to end and loved it all.

Week 1 We are all here. Really, all of us!

My first week consisted of  parents, siblings, spouses and children. This was the first time that all of us were together for over a decade. Wow! Home and hearth filled from top to bottom, every bed had a head or two. It was lovely to have everyone together to meet Super-baby. My siblings and I agree that Super-baby will have anyone wrapped around his little fingers.

In addition to admiring Super-baby, the Arts & Crafts Fair was in full force and made a great diversion for an afternoon.  Where else may you shop for art, exercise and pursue a street of food truck items all in one place? I believe that the man cave had more than one  battle of pool. Sharing meals, wine and cocktails over family stories and billiard games was a hit with our group.

Week 2 Started taking vitamins daily due to weary soul

This theme wove throughout the fabric of my second week of guests. Cousins and Uncle hailed  from three parts of Louisiana.  My Uncle and Grill-Man managed a game of golf, of course. We shopped while the boys chased the little white ball around. I am sure that we had more fun!

Later the men-folk hung out in the man cave, played albums, battled with billiards and solved the problems of the world. Well, maybe just their world’s. Occasionally, we would see them when it was time to refill their water bottles or needed a snack.  OK, it wasn’t water. My brother was able to join us for lunch and card games. In addition to games, we played music and tried to see who best “who could stump Alexa”.  Quality time with my brother and Louisiana crew,sadly short but sweet visit.

Week 3 It’s time for Weary Souls Chicken Soup

Our third week consisted of friends from Houston. UK and Little Italy’s son married a Southern Mobile-Belle. Their visit breezed in before and after the wedding. It was high-time’s for all filled with Bridal Luncheons, Wedding, Reception and After Wedding Party at the Battle House Penthouse. It was a grand event filled with love and cocktails. Including their visit after the wedding-ness was complete, it was a relaxed visit catching up with our close friends.

In addition, we also hosted another couple  from Houston, Ringer and Shore-Girl. We have grown fond of these two while visiting UK and Little Italy. Ringer and Shore-Girl only stayed overnight but we  managed to pack it all in. We shared a lovely meal complete with wine on the porch near the fire pit. Aaaahhhhhhh!

Ringer and Grill Man managed an early morning game of golf on Saturday before the wedding. After coffee and breakfast on the porch, I introduced Shore-Girl to shopping in our lovely city by the bay. Somehow after shopping, we managed to crunch in a visit with my favorite artist, Weezie Bancroft Brabner in her studio. A visit with Weezie in her studio is always entertaining. Book an appointment, you won’t regret it.

After lunch with the boys and our celebratory cocktail, we were in need of a nap before the wedding. No rest for the weary. Bath, cocktails and heels were the order of things. My Babe managed to join us for the wedding. She slid in just in time to attend all the festivities and share in the wedding of her childhood friend.

We all arrived in style for the joining of two families on a perfectly beautiful day. From coffee on the porch, to wedding, to reception, to dancing and celebrating with friends until the wee hours. Jammed packed with everything that we love.

On Sunday, Grill-Man hid away quietly, secretly napping. My girl and I laid around on our favorite couch and watched movies. At some point, she convinced me that a trip to Mr Gene’s Beans for ice cream was on our list. Really, it wasn’t on my list. My list consisted of me laying quietly on the couch. I was perfectly happy there.

Ironically, as I stood in line with my young adult child I smiled that we were here again as we had been many times before when she was little. We ordered ice cream and walked to the benches on the Bluff overlooking Mobile Bay and sat for a spell. On the way back from the bluff we reflected on the weekend and our highlights. We  squeezed in a stop and shop at our favorite book store, Page and Palette. It was a good day.

Grill-Man, Babe and I were weary but we would not have missed anything for the world. In addition, it had been a very busy three weeks but in the best way. My girl managed to visit twice from New Orleans during this time and share in the festivities along with us. I was a happy girl. I just needed Weary Souls Chicken Soup.

In summary, I was happy until I realized I had to return to work. The real world started again on Monday filled with work,  laundry and everything else that I had allowed to pile up. A hot bowl of chicken soup was what sounded good to me.

Y’all come back, now!

Alexa, Shout out to J Geils Band for Come Back.

Sadly Jay Geils died this week, he was a favorite of mine and will be missed by many.

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Porch time is a fan favorite at our house and almost mandatory for guests. The porch allows for slow and easy conversation while enjoying the birds and squirrel chatter. Perhaps, a lovely place to while away the morning with a cup of coffee. Add in a pitter-patter of rain on the tin roof and it is music to my ears.

Last weekend was Round 2 of my March company.  My Uncle and two of my cousins from Louisiana were visiting with their families, Funny Girl and Lil Rouge. A quick and easy breakfast was certainly on my list. Cooking Spicy Sausage Cheese Egg Pie in the kitchen with them was a joy. Having extra hands in my kitchen is not common but I love and cherish it when I do.

Lil Rouge and Funny Girl made quick work of the Spicy Sausage Cheese Egg Pie recipe that I created for making  two Egg Pies. If you only need one, you may freeze the second pie after you bake. Pie in the freezer is great to have on hand for breakfast, lunch or deliver to a friend in need.

Over the course of our weekend, we had a grand time telling tales of our childhood days and teenage mishaps. Reminiscing about our loved ones that had moved on was bittersweet yet softened by the retelling of our family stories.  Sharing delight in the telling of our tales is a common thread in our group.

No weekend around my family can occur without the occasional game or cards whether it is Shanghai, Canasta or Poop-head. For the record, I was not the Poop-head!

Card playing allows for plenty of conversations, tale-telling and cocktails, of course. My brother was able to join us for lunch, tale-telling and such. Funny Girl whipped up a  delicious white coconut cocktail that I loved. She also whipped up something she called Kidney infection. Oddly, Funny Girl and I didn’t drink that one but Lil Rouge managed it somehow.

Between hands of cards, we discussed our ancestors and looked at old photos.  Sargent Granny would have smiled had she been sitting with us. Sharing time together is sometimes hard to organize with family and friends but so worth the effort. Living in different cities and states adds to difficulty of organizing  schedules, just do it. Your Granny will smile, I know mine is.

Alexa Shout out to Leon Bridges.

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